By Ro n Wienho ld of t he T odd County Historical Society As mentioned in a past article on land topography caused by glaciation in Todd and surrounding immediate counties, the area was a very barren land several thousand years ago. Then came several migrations of peoples from the old world. One recently surmised a route around the top of the Atlantic Ocean on ice and water. However the most used is the land bridge and water between Siberia and Alask a dur ing t he lo w sea levels at the time of much ice on the poles. Each migration brought with it advances. What makes our area so unique is the method of travel. The Rocky Mountains were quite diffi- cult to cross, so by heading east a bit they came to a huge inland gla- cial lake called Agassiz, of which the southern shore line came down to where Fargo-Moorhead now stands. Following this down through our area they spread south and developed the eventual civilizations of the southern states, Central American and South Ameri ca. It is amazing to think of those original people possibly trudging through our counties. However most people think only of the tribes of Native Americans (Indians) that were here when Europeans settled here. We must remember there were several thousand years before that. Usually archaeologists divide these into different eras. Paleo, the first few thousand years, then Early Woodland, Middle Woodland and Late Woodland and finally those who were here at the time of European arrival. A nativ e artifac t hunter fou nd a Folsom spear point, about nine thousand years old, at the headwa- ters where the Long Prairie River comes out of Lake Carlos. It is one of very few found in Minnesota. It is distinctive for being like one found grown into the bones of an extinct bison in New Mexico. A very unique form with a hollow ground groove on each side caused by one long flake taken off each side from the bottom. These people for some time were hunter gatherers - traveling about after game like large Mammoths and other now extinct animals. They used spears and later atlatls. Many of our so called arrowheads were actually the tips of a dart that was attached to a long spear thrown with the help of a flat piece of wood for extra leverage. Much later, seven or eight hundred years, the bow and arrow came with new migrations. Campsites were used around our many lakes and rivers. These are often mistaken for battle sites because of the somewhat frequent finds of artifacts on the spots. Also these sites contain many chips of stones used in the manufacture of weapons. A sampling of th e flakes shows an amazing variety from distant places. Obsidian from Y ellowstone , oolitic chert from New Y ork State , copper from Mi chiga n, flint from North Dakota, evaculite from Missouri, and greenstone from Ely. Closer to home there is a vein of white milky quartz in the bed rock below the dam in Little Falls that they quarried. Also used were the glacial tumbled rocks of chert, agate, jasper, chalcedony and others found around our lake shores and rivers. Little Falls had many spalds of quartz on the town site as well as scattered along the road cuts south of the city. Being the people did not have horses for carrying the rocks they were chipped into hand sized pieces rounded on the top and flat on the bottom and called turtle backs. These could be carried long Tue. June 18 Mostly Sunny Wed. June 19 Partly Cloudy Thur. June 20 T-Storms Fri. June 21 T-Storms Sat. June 22 Mostly Cloudy Sun. June 23 Mostly Dloudy W EEKLY W EATHER REPORT A community newspape r serving Br owerville, MN and surr ounding ar eas. USPS 067-560 Thursday, June 20, 2013 V olume 97; Number 51 www .bladepublishing.net [email protected] 7 5 ¢ What is Crazy Bingo? What’s Crazy Bingo? Good question! Have you ever played Bingo and complained because you don’t win? Have you ever been d is- couraged because YOU HAD the number BEFORE or AFTER the one called? Have you ever been dis- couraged because you were just O N E NUM- B E R away from having Bingo, a n d some- one else yells, “Bingo”! Don’t y o u wish that you’d know if maybe, JUST MAYBE, the next number called could have been YOUR “bingo number?” How would you like to be rewarded for having the number just called on your card? It could happen! How about if you added 10 to the num- ber that was just called and be able to cover that number, too? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Well, don’t be discouraged again!! Once you play Crazy Bingo, you’re going to wonder why it’s not ALWAYS played that way! Come to the tent area behind the V et’s C lub on Sa turda y , June 29 th, from noon until 2:00 p.m. and enjoy some FREE fun and win prizes while you’re at it. Just one free card per person – if you c a n read num- bers you can play - there’s no age limit! Join us at any time from noon until 2:00; we’ll try to get 20 games played. Rem ember: it’s FREE, one card per person; play as many games you’d like; if you can read numbers - you can play . Join Sandy and the “Crazy Bingo” crew at the Vet’s Tent on Saturday, June 29th. It promises to be a fun afternoon! Scott Lieser signs pro contract with the Milwaukee Brewers The Early Civilizations of Todd and Surrounding Counties Continued on page 12 Former Browerville and St. Cloud State alumni Scott Lieser signed a professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Lieser recently com- pleted his final season at St. Cloud State that saw the right- handed pitcher set many school records including three no-hit- ters. Lieser went 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA in his se nior se ason fo r the Huskies. He threw 83 innings, struck out a team-high 66 and walked a team-low 11 among the Huskies’ starters. Lieser recently left for Arizona to begin his first season with the Brewers rookie team located in Phoenix. Lieser added, “I want to thank everybody in the surrounding communities for their support throughout the years and their continued support as I continue to chase my dream.” Com e vi sit Br owerville Heritage Day s Jun e 28 - 30. som ething for ever yon e! This image is a depiction of what an early settlement in Todd County may have looked like.